Change making machine



July 17, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed June 27 1951 Rom/.0 GALE INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY July 17, 1956 -R GALE CHANGE MAKING MACHINE Filed June 27, 19515 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 17, 1956 R. GALE I CHANGE MAKING MACHINE 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 27, 1951 7 a Z K n t "m r a l! 0 Nu 1 I 3.QHII 5 42 0 v 2 2. 8 :3 0 l 4 .v. z .6 3 5 1/, I 4. 7 2 7 H 6 7 W 4 W 1I 6 I 0 Kw I I w a I. a 7. 5 cu i w A TTORNEY IN V EN TOR.

Rom/1L0 GALE United States Patent CHANGE MAKING MACHINE Ronald Gale,Dallas, Tex., assignor to Silver King Corp, Aurora, 111., a corporationof Illinois Application June 27, 1951, Serial No. 233,874

4 Claims. (Cl. 19491) This invention relates to coin operated mechanismsand more particularly to a coin changing mechanism.

In many applications, such as vending machines, it is desirable toprovide a coin changing mechanism so that customers not provided with acoin of proper denomination for purchasing the article vended by themachine may insert a coin of larger denomination and receive in returnthe vended article and the proper change. For example, the vendedarticle may cost a nickel and it may be desired to provide a coinoperated mechanism which will dispense the vended article only if anickel is deposited in one slot, which will dispense the vended articleand a nickel in change if a dime is deposited in a second slot, andwhich will dispense the vended article and four nickels in change if aquarter is deposited in a third slot. In order that the coin changingmechanism be operable over a long period of time, it is desirable thatthe coins of lowest denomination, i. e., the nickels, be deposited in acoin magazine from which the proper number of nickels is dispensed whena dime or quarter is deposited in the machine.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new andimproved coin operated mechanism.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improvedcoin changing mechanism.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a new andimproved coin changing mechanism for a vending machine which dispensesboth the vended article and the proper change if a coin of largerdenomination than the price of the article is deposited in the coinchanging mechanism.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a new and improvedcoin changing mechanism which selectively dispenses different numbers ofcoins from a common coin magazine.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a new andimproved coin operated mechanism in which coins of a lower denominationare deposited in a coin magazine from which proper different numbers ofcoins are selectively dispensed when coins of different higherdenominations are inserted in the machine.

Briefly stated, the new and improved coin operated mechanism of thedrawing includes a first coin receiver which receives coins of thelowest denomination, e. g., a nickel and upon actuation of a levercarries the nickel to a coin magazine. During the course of its travelin the first coin receiver, the nickel cams a pivoted lever to actuatean article dispensing mechanism. A second coin receiver is provided withtwo recesses to receive a dime and quarters, respectively, and isrigidly secured to a rotatable operating shaft. A pair of superposedslidable plates are provided with registerable apertures which arenormally disposed beneath the open end of the coin magazine and whichreceive the lowermost nickels from the magazine. The upper plate isthree times as thick as the lower slidable plate. Each slide is providedwith a rack which is engaged by a sector gear rotatably mounted on theoperating shaft. A pair of 'ice clutches, one operable by a dime in onerecess and the other by a quarter in the other recess of a coinreceiver, are employed selectively to lock the operating shaft to eitherthe sector gear which engages the rack of the upper slidable plate orthe sector gear which engages the rack of the lower slidable plate. Thegear and rack acsemblies move either both the slidable plates or onlythe lower slidable plate past the open end of the coin magaizine. Whenboth plates are moved outward-1y, four nickels are carried outwardly anddispensed from the magazine. When only the lower plate is movedoutwardly, only one nickel is carried outwardly and dispensed from thecoin magazine. The dime or nickel in the coin receiver also actuatelevers linked to the article dispensing mechanism so that an article isdispensed each time the slidable plates are moved outwardly to dispensechange.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingand its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Figure l is a perspective View of the coin changing mechanism with oneside removed to show elements hidden thereby;

Figure 2 is an elevation of one side of the coin changing device withthe nearest side plate removed;

Figure 3 is an elevation of the other side of the coin changing devicewith the nearest side plate removed and some parts broken away;

Figure 4 is a side view of the coin changing device with some partsremoved, others broken away, and others shown in section, illustratingthe relative positions of the elements of the device in rest position;

Figure 5 is a side view similar to Figure 4 showing the relativepositions of the elements of the device after the operating shaft hasbeen rotated a certain distance in a coin changing operation;

Figure 6 is a side view similar to Figure 5 showing the relativepositions of the elements of the device after the operating shaft hasbeen rotated to a position in which the slidable plates have been movedoutwardly to dispense change;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the base of the device; and,

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the bottom side of the lower slidableplate.

Referring now to the drawing, the coin changing mechanism ll) includes abase 11 having a raised forward portion 12 provided with a longitudinalhorizontal slot 13 and a vertical aperture 1 5 communicating with thelongitudinal slot. A coin barrel or magazine 15 is disposed in thevertical aperture 14 over a pair of superposed sliding plates 16 and 17which rest on the base 11 and extend through the horizontal slot 13. Thesliding plates 16 and 17 are provided with registerable circularapertures 18 and 19, respectively, into which coins from the magazinemay descend. The upper plate 16 is approximately three times as thick asthe lower plate 17 so that three coins may be disposed in the aperture18 of the upper plate while only one may be disposed in the aperture 19of the lower plate. It will now be apparent that if both sliding platesare moved outwardly past the magazine 15, four coins will be carriedpast the end of the base 11 (Fig. 4). However, if only the lower plate17 is moved outwardly, only the coin disposed in its aperture 19 will becarried outwardly past the end of the base 11. By providing meansselectively to move only the lower plate 17 or both the upper and lowerplates simultaneously, either one or four coins may be dispensed.

In order to force the lower plate 16 to move outwardly whenever theupper plate 17 is moved outwardly, the upper plate 16 is provided with ascrew 20 which extends downwardly through the upper plate into alongitudinal slot 21 provided in the rear end of the lower plate. Thescrew 20 abuts the end portion 22 of the lower plate which defines theinner end of the slot 21 and moves the lower plate outwardly wheneverthe upper plate is moved but allows outward movement of the lower platewithout simultaneous outward movement of the upper plate. The outwardmovement of the lower plate with respect to the base 11 is limited bythe screws 23 and 24 on the bottom side of the lower plate which willabut the inner end 25 of the base which defines the end of the slot 26of the base.

The inward or rearward movement of the sliding plates 16 and 17 islimited by stops 27 and 28, respectively, secured to the outer ends ofthe plates by screws 29 and 30, respectively. The stops 27 and 28 abutthe outer end 31 of the base to arrest further inward movement.

A housing 32 having sides 33 and 34 connected by rear portions 35 and 36is secured to the sides of the base 11 by screws. A pair of springs 38and 39 secured to the rear portion 36 and the inner ends of the upperand lower plates 16 and 17, respectively, bias the slidable platesinwardly.

In order to move the plates outwardly against the resistance of thesprings, the plates 16 and 17 have secured to them the rearwardlyextending gear racks 40 and 41, respectively. The gear rack 40 issecured to the upper plate 16 by screws 42 and lies between a side ofthe upper plate and the side 34 of the housing while the gear rack 41 issecured to the lower plate 17 by screws 43 and lies between the oppositeside of the upper plate and the side 33 of the housing.

The gear racks 40 and 41 are engaged by the sector gears 45 and 46,respectively, which are rotatably mounted on a rotatable operating shaft47 journaled in the sides 33 and 34 of the housing 32 above the gearracks. It will be apparent that if the sector gear 45 is rotatedcounterclockwise as seen in Figures 1, 2 and 4 to 6, the rack gear 40will be moved to the right. Both slidable plates will thus be movedoutwardly each time the sector gear 45 is rotated counterclockwise. Ifthe sector gear 46 is rotated clockwise, Figure 3, the gear rack 41 willbe moved to the left and only the lower slidable plate 17 will be movedoutwardly.

A coin receiver 48 rigidly mounted on the operating shaft 47 is providedwith a pair of clutch arms 49 and 50 which are employed to rotate thesector gears. The clutch arm 49 has a laterally extending finger 51which is adapted to engage a cam 52 rotatably mounted on the operatingshaft 47 and rigidly secured to the sector gear. The clutch arm 49 hasits upper end pivotally secured, as at 53, to a forward side portion ofthe coin receiver 48. In order that the finger 51 engage the cam 52 onlywhen a coin is in the recess 54 of the coin receiver 48, a lock arm 55is pivotally secured, at its upper end, as at 56 to an actuating member57. The actuating member 57 is pivotally mounted on a pin 58 whichextends through registering apertures in the sides 33 and 34 of thehousing 32. The lower forward face of the actuating member 57 isprovided with a groove 59 to receive the upper edge of a coin disposedin the recess 54 of the coin receiver 48. The groove 59 is rathershallow and serves merely as a guide to prevent sidewise movementbetween the coin and the actuating member. The actuating member 57 isbiased toward the coin receiver by a spring 60 one of whose ends isreceived in a recess 61 in the actuating member and whose other endabuts a forwardly and upwardly extending tab 62 integral with the rearportion 35 of the housing 32.

The lock arm 55 is provided with an elongated slot 63 through which theoperating shaft 47 extends and an irregularly shaped slot 64 throughwhich extends the finger 51 of the clutch arm 49. The lock arm 55 has acamming projection 65 which extends into the irregularly shaped slot 64.If a coin is not deposited in the recess 54 of the coin receiver,counterclockwise (Figures 4 to 6) rotation of the operating shaft 47will cause the finger 51 of the clutch arm to be cammed outwardly by thecamming projection 65 as the coin receiver is rotated counterclockwiseraising the clutch arm 49. This outward move ment of the finger 51prevents engagement of the cam 52 by the finger. If, however, a coin 66is in the recess 54, counterclockwise rotation of the operating shaft47, the upper edge of the coin 66 will enter the groove 59 of theactuating member 57 and will cause the actuating member to pivotupwardly about the pin 57. The lock arm 55 will then be moved upwardlyand to the left (Figs. 4 to 6) and the edge 67 of the slot 64 willcontact the finger 51 and move it also upwardly and to the left from theposition shown in Figure 4 so that the finger 51 will be moved into theposition shown in Figure 5 in which it engages the cam 52. Still furthercounter cloekwise rota tion of the operating shaft will now cause thesector gear 45 to rotate in a counter-clockwise manner moving the rackgear 40 outwardly. The upper slidable plate 16 and the lower slidableplate 17 will thus be moved outwardly when the operating shaft 47 isrotated in a counterclockwise manner. An operating handle 68 is rigidlysecured to an end of the operating shaft by means of a set screw 69.

The coin 66 in the recess 54 will fall out of the recess when theoperating shaft 47 and the coin receiver 48 are rotated to the positionshown in Figure 6. A suitable receptacle, not shown, may be providedbelow the coin changer mechanism to receive the coins which fall fromthe recess 54. After the coin 66 has dropped out of the recess 54 andthe coins 70 have fallen out of the apertures 18 and 19 in the slidableplates 16 and 17, the operating shaft may be rotated in the reversedirection to bring back the lock arm 55 and the clutch arm 49 to theposition shown in Figure 4. If another coin is now deposited in therecess 54, the above cycle of operations can be repeated to dispense thenext four coins from the coin magazine 15.

The clutch arm 50 operates in the same manner as the clutch arm 49 tolock the operating shaft 47 to the sector gear 46. The clutch arm 50 ispivoted at its upper end, as at 71, to the coin receiver 48 and isprovided at its lower end with a laterally extending finger 72. Thefinger 72 projects through an irregularly shaped slot 73 in the lowerend of a lock arm 74 whose upper end is pivotally secured, as at 75, toan actuating member 76. The actuating member 76 has a forward portionprojecting over a recess 77, shallower than the recess 54, in the coinreceiver 48 and has its rear end pivotally mounted on the pin 58. Theactuating member 76 is similar to the actuating member 57 operativelyassociated with the recess 54 and is similarly biased downwardly by aspring 78. The clutch arm 50, the lock arm 74 and the cam 79 rigidlysecured to the sector gear 46 cooperate in the same manner as thecorreponding elements associated with the sector gear 45, to rotate thesector gear in a clockwise direction, as seen in Figure 3, when a smallcoin 80 is disposed in the recess 77 and the operating shaft is rotated.Since the sector gear 46 engages the gear rack 41, only the lowerslidable plate 17 is moved outwardly and a single coin will be dispensedfrom the coin magazine 15.

An L-shaped bracket 81 has its horizontal leg 82 secured to theactuating member 76 by a screw 83. The leg 82 projects over theactuating member 57 so that a link 84 pivotally secured to the verticalleg 85 of the bracket will be moved upwardly whenever a large coin 66 isin the recess 54 as well as when a small coin 80 is in the recess 77.The upper end of the link 84 is pivotally secured to one end of a bellcrank lever 86 which is rotatably secured to a shaft 87.

The other end of the bell crank lever 86 is connected by a link 88 to aT-shaped lever 89 pivotally attached to a fixed structure of a vendingmachine as at 90. The opposite ends of the link 88 are pivotally securedtothe levers 86 and 89 in any conventional manner. The T shaped lever isalso provided with'a laterally extending pin 91 which engages the edgeof a coin carried in a coin receiver 92 which is rigidly secured to arotatable shaft 93. The shaft 93 is rotated by a handle 94.

A triple coin chute 95, not shown in detail since it is conventional inthe art, has three slots into one of which may be inserted a nickel 96which falls into a suitable recess in a coin receiver 97. The nickel 96earns the pin 91 upwardly so that the pin 91 moves out of the path oftravel of the stop 93 of the coin receiver 92. Clockwise movement of thehandle 94 through a considerable angle past the position 94a cantherefore take place when a nickel 96 is carried by the coin receiver92. Only limited clockwise movement of the shaft 93 can take place whenthe pin 91 of the T-shaped lever is disposed in the path of travel ofthe stop 98. The shaft 93 actuates an article dispensing mechanism (notshown) when the handle 94 is moved past the position 94a.

Another slot of the coin chute receives dimes which are guided to fallinto the recess 77 of the coin receiver 48. The third slot of the coinchute receives quarters which are guided to fall into the recess 54 ofthe coin receiver 48.

In use, if a nickel 96 is deposited in the vending machine, it fallsinto the recess in the coin receiver 92 and, when the handle 94 is movedin a clockwise manner, the edge of the nickel 96 earns the pin 91 andpivots the T-shaped lever 89 upwardly so that the pin 91 is moved out ofthe direction of travel of the stop 98. The handle 94 can then be movedpast the position 94a and the shaft 93 is rotated to actuate the articledispensing mechanism. The nickel 96 then falls through a chute 100 intothe coin magazine 15.

If a dime 80 is inserted in the mechanism it falls through its portionof the chute 95 into the recess 77 of the coin receiver 48. If thehandle 68 is now pivoted to the left (Figure l) the dime 80 will cam theactuating member 76 upwardly. The bracket 81 will also be moved upwardlyand acting through the linkage 84, 86 and 87 will move the pin 91 out ofthe path of travel of the stop 98 so that the handle 94 may be movedpast position 94a to vend an article. The actuating member 76 will alsomove lock arm 74 to engage the finger 72 of the clutch arm 50 and,through the engagement of the cam 79 and the finger 72, cause the sectorgear 46 to rotate. The lower sliding plate will be moved outwardly todispense a nickel in change from the coin magazine 15. The dime will, ofcourse, fall out of the recess 77 after the handle 68 is pivoted past apredetermined position and may be deposited in any suitable receptaclepositioned beneath the coin changing mechanism 10.

If a quarter 66 is deposited in the machine, it falls through itsportion of the chute 95 into the recess 54 of the coin changer 48. Ifthe handle 63 is now pivoted, the edge of the quarter 66 will cam theactuating member 57 upwardly. Since the top surface of the actuatingmember abuts the horizontal leg 82 of the L-shaped bracket 81, thebracket 81 will be lifted, thus again causing the pin 91 on the T-shapedlever 89 to be moved out of the path of travel of the stop 98. Thehandle 94 can then again be pivoted a sufiicient distance to vend anarticle. When the handle 68 Was pivoted, the actuating member 57, clutcharm 49, lock arm 55 and the cam 52 cooperated in the manner describedabove to rotate the sector gear 45 and move both slidable plates 16 and17 outwardly to dispense four nickels from the coin magazine 15.

If desired, the handles 68 and 94 may be linked mechanically so thatonly handle 94 need be operated regardless of the denomination of thecoin used. The coin receiver 48 can, of course, be rotated withoutlifting the bracket 81 the necessary distance to move the pin 91 out ofthe path of travel of the stop 98 as long as the recesses 54 and 77 areempty.

It will be seen now, that the coin changing mechanism 10 may be used inan article dispensing device and will receive either a nickel, dime, orquarter and dispense an article costing a nickel and the appropriateamount of change. Moreover, it will be seen that all nickels depositedin the machine fall into the coin magazine from where they may bedispensed to make change if a dime or quarter is subsequently depositedin the coin magazine. The coin changing mechanism may be easily changedfor use solely as a device for dispensing two nickels, when a dime isdeposited and five nickels when a quarter is deposited by increasing thethickness of the lower slidable plate 17 so that two nickels may bereceived in the aperture 19 of the lower plate.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made in the illustrated coin changing mechanismwithout departing from the invention and it is intended, therefore, inthe appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a change making mechanism, a base, a transverse shaft journaled insaid base having an operating handle, a gear rack mounted forlongitudinal sliding displacement in said base, a sector gear rotatablymounted on said shaft and engaging said gear rack, a cam carried by saidsector gear, a coin receiver rigidly mounted on said shaft having a coinreceiving recess, a clutch arm pivotally mounted on said coin receiver,means on said clutch arm for engaging and actuating said cam, anactuating member pivotally mounted on said base having a free endoverlying the coin receiving recess of said coin receiver, a locking armpivoted at one end to said actuating member and having a slot in itsopposite end receiving said shaft, said locking arm being effective toactuate said clutch arm and cam to oscillate said sector gear when acoin in said coin receiving recess engages and elevates said actuatingmember upon movement of said operating handle.

2. In a change making mechanism, a base, a transverse shaft journaled insaid base, a member slidable longitudinally in said base, a memberfreely mounted on said shaft and engaging said slidable member formoving the same, a coin receiver afiixed to said shaft having a coinreceiving recess, an actuating member pivoted at one end to said baseand overlying said coin receiving recess at its opposite end to beraised by a coin in said recess when said shaft is rotated, a cam onsaid freely mounted member, a clutch arm pivoted to said coin receiverand means pivotally connected to said actuating member for effectingengagement of said clutch arm with said cam upon movement of saidactuating member to secure said freely mounted member for rotation withsaid shaft to effect sliding displacement of said slidable member.

3. In a change making machine, a base, a gear rack reciprocable in saidbase, a transverse shaft journalled in said base, a sector gearrotatably mounted on said shaft and having meshing engagement with saidgear rack, a cam free to rotate on said shaft and secured to said sectorgear, a coin receiver secured to said shaft and having a coin receivingrecess, a clutch arm pivoted to said coin receiver and engageable withsaid cam, a'n actuating member pivotally mounted on said base andprovided with a free end overlying the coin receiving recess of saidcoin receiver, a locking arm pivotally connected at one end to theactuating member and at its other end provided with a slot for receivingsaid shaft, said locking arm being effective to actuate said clutch armand cam to oscillate said sector gear and reciprocate said rack when acoin in said coin receiving recess en- 7 gages and elevates saidactuating member upon rotation of said shaft.

4. In a coin changing mechanism, a base, a transverse shaft secured tosaid base, a first means rotatably mounted on said transverse shaft, 21second means rotatably mounted on said transverse shaft, said first andsecond means each including a cam, means rigidly mounted on said shaftand having a pair of coin receiving recesses, a pair of coin actuatedclutch means for selectively locking said first and second means to saidrotatable shaft, each of said clutch means including a clutch armpivotally mounted on said coin receiver and having means for contactingand rotating said cam, a pair of actuating members pivotally mounted onsaid base and each having a portion extending over an associated recessin said coin receiver, and a. locking arm pivotally mounted on each ofsaid actuating members for moving said clutch arm means into engagementwith said cam,

said locking arm moving said clutch arm means into engagement with saidcam when a coin is disposed in said associated recess to pivot itsactuating member and move said locking arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS673,704 Di Marco May 7, 1901 712,911 Cox Nov. 4, 1902 788,187 BurdickApr. 25, 1905 1,325,766 Thompson Dec. 23, 1919 2,036,970 Porter Apr. 7,1936 2,250,051 Patzer July 22, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 594,584 Germany Mar.30, 1934 2,002 Great Britain of 1909 125,832 Austria Dec. 10, 1931

